The head of the regional transit authority will receive a 2 percent pay increase for the upcoming year, pushing his salary to $213,000.

Members of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority signed off on the $4,180 merit raise this month.

CEO Bill Carpenter's total compensation package for the year ahead also includes a $7,000 car allowance, unchanged from last year, and nearly $29,000 in deferred compensation, accessible upon his retirement.

The 2 percent merit raise is in line with years past. His compensation ranks among the highest for transit directors in New York state, according to SeeThroughNY, outpacing those at the helm of other transit authorities in central and western New York — including the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which covers two counties but encompasses Metro Rail and the Buffalo Niagara Airport and its Fire Department.

RGRTA encompasses an eight-county region.

"Bill has led the organization through some major transitions," said RGRTA board chairman Geoff Astles, "and from the commissioners' point of view, he has done it well. We have been successful at it, and we have managed to do it without exploding our budget."

Planning for a systemwide redesign of the bus system in Rochester and Monroe County is underway. Changes were implemented this past year in the seven counties outside of Monroe. A first look at recommended revisions should be released in May, with a final report due in August. Any changes would be rolled out over the next several years, officials said.

Carpenter is eligible for up to 10 percent of his base salary in additional pay based on how well the authority meets its goals for the year, including financial sustainability, on-time performance, and customer as well as employee satisfaction.

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The "variable pay" award has been steadily reduced, once set at 20 percent, but capped at 17 percent for this past fiscal year, which ended in March. The 7 percentage point reduction in the move to 10 percent was not lost, however, but instead shifted to his deferred compensation for the upcoming year, resulting in an increase of $14,919.

The full "variable pay" allotment for this past fiscal year had yet to be determined as of press time, officials said.

The board uses various measures to determine salary, including employment evaluations, CEO salaries at other comparable transit authorities and community agencies across New York and in similarly sized cities, Astles said.

RGRTA has roughly 900 employees and a $96.5 million budget.

Other top executives also are eligible for raises and variable pay. They will undergo performance reviews in the coming weeks to determine potential merit raises of up to 2 percent.